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[OnePiece]

Kevin Love shows the hardware after winning the 2012 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.

Juan Ocampo/NBAE/Getty Images

Love outduels Durant to win Foot Locker Three-Point Contest

Posted Jan 31 2012 1:32PM

By Shaun Powell, NBA.com

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kevin Love is the only winner of the Three-Point Contest whose three-point shooting is his second skill.
"At the end of the day," Love assured, in case anyone wondered, "I'm an inside guy. If I'm not drawing enough blood, I'm not doing my job."
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Well, at the end of Saturday at All-Star Weekend, his outside technique was confirmed and awarded. Love is the strangest of power forwards, someone who can change a game either in the paint or beyond the arc, someone who rebounds with abandon but also has the touch of a diamond-cutter from deep.
He had to survive two tiebreakers to do it. He beat the hometown favorite, Ryan Anderson; former three-point contest winner James Jones; Anthony Morrow, who wore a jersey honoring the late Drazen Petrovic; and then out-pointed Kevin Durant, a top-three NBA scorer. And he did this while bringing the lowest three-point percentage of all the contestants, which meant nothing on this night.
That's because, in a sense, Love has spent years preparing for this moment.
"When I came out of the draft, I was told that I shouldn't shoot 3s," said Love. "It was motivation for me. I always knew I could shoot it and I didn't think I had to stop, just because of my size or the position I played."
Love spent his rookie season listening to critics and stayed close to the rim. After that, he strayed, and his career soared at the same time. He shot 41 percent last season and has cooled to 36 percent now, both impressive numbers for a lifetime 12 rebounds-a-game player.
"The position is changing," Love said. "Guys like Dirk (Nowitzki) or LaMarcus Aldridge are just a few who can hit those shots are add another dimension to their game.
"That doesn't mean I'm going to start throwing up 3s the rest of the season. I'm not going to let this go to my head in that respect. But this shows how much work I put in with Terry Porter (Wolves assistant coach) who finished runner-up twice in this contest. This is for him. I was the darkhorse in that competition if you consider a few of the guys in particular. Once I saw that (Durant) was added to the competition, I thought, 'oh, no.' He's the type of guy who can get hot."
When the Timberwolves resume play and begin a push toward making the playoffs, Love plans to return to his trademark.
"I want to be known as a power player," he said. "That's the best way I can help my team, by being a presence inside. That's how we're going to be able to move in the right direction.
"But every now and then, I'll step out and shoot a three. I'm not out of my comfort zone there."


2011
Heat's Jones outlasts duo of Celtics to win 3-Point Contest
Often overshadowed by his superstar Heat teammates, James Jones was the center of attention on All-Star Saturday night as he beat a pair of Celtics in the final round to win the 2011 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.

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For one night, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were mere courtside spectators, standing around and watching the Heat's fourth (fifth?) option in a shootout against two players standing in Miami's way of a conference championship.

Jones' 20 point total in the final round gave him the title over Paul Pierce's 18 and Ray Allen's 15.

2010
Pierce redeems himself to claim Foot Locker Three-Point title
Getting redemption the only place possible for the moment, Paul Pierce of the Celtics atoned for a bad showing his last time in the competition by winning the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest during the 2010 All-Star Weekend in Dallas.
After posting 17 points in the first round, Pierce out-dueled Stephen Curry of the Warriors and Chauncey Billups of the Nuggest in the final round.
2009
Heat's cook ends Kapono's reign
Miami's Daequan Cook ended Jason Kapono's two-year reign as the NBA's best exhibition sharpshooter, besting Orlando's Rashard Lewis in overtime in Phoenix.
2008
Kapono repeats with dominating Three-Point performance
Jason Kapono kept his Contest title and dominated the 2008 field. Kapono notched 25 points in the final round in New Orleans, tying the all-time record set in 1986 by Mark Price. He set a new mark for most points in a final round of the Shootout, flipping in 20-of-25 shot attempts (including 10 in a row from the third ball of the first rack to the second ball of the third rack) for a total of 25 points.
2007
Kapono ties final-round record
Jason Kapono tied Mark Price's final-round record with 24 points and outlasted Gilbert Arenas on his way to the 2007 Contest title in Las Vegas. Arenas notched a first-round high of 23 points and had 17 in the finals.



Foot Locker Three-Point Contest Year-By-Year Winners
2011 -- James Jones, Miami
2010 -- Paul Pierce, Boston
2009 -- Daequan Cook, Miami
2008 -- Jason Kapono, Toronto
2007 -- Jason Kapono, Miami Heat
2006 -- Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
2005 -- Quentin Richardson, Phoenix
2004 -- Voshon Lenard, Denver
2003 -- Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento
2002 -- Peja Stojakovic, Sacramento
2001 -- Ray Allen, Milwaukee
2000 -- Jeff Hornacek, Utah
1998 -- Jeff Hornacek, Utah
1997 -- Steve Kerr, Chicago
1996 -- Tim Legler, Washington
1995 -- Glen Rice, Miami
1994 -- Mark Price, Cleveland
1993 -- Mark Price, Cleveland
1992 -- Craig Hodges, Chicago
1991 -- Craig Hodges, Chicago
1990 -- Craig Hodges, Chicago
1989 -- Dale Ellis, Seattle
1988 -- Larry Bird, Boston
1987 -- Larry Bird, Boston
1986 -- Larry Bird, Boston

[OnePiece]

Tony Parker bested Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams in final round to take competition.

Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images
Spurs' Parker takes 2012 Skills Challenge competition

By Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com

Posted Jan 31 2012 1:34PM - Updated Feb 26 2012 12:29AM
ORLANDO -- Tony Parker was at the bottom of the Skills Challenge in 2003 in Atlanta. Same thing in 2009 in Phoenix.
Which brought him to Saturday -- 2012 -- at Amway Center.
"I was very confident before the competition, finishing last the first two times I did it," he said. "I was very confident."


Parker overcame history and spending the night with his tongue in his cheek to win the Taco Bell Skills Challenge as part of All-Star Weekend.
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The Spurs point guard, a reserve on the Western Conference squad for the main event tonight, clocked the fastest time, 29.2 seconds, in the first round of the obstacle course that requires a chest pass and a bounce pass through a target, a shot from the top of the key and an outlet pass before finishing with a dunk or layup. He was followed by Deron Williams (28.3 seconds), Rajon Rondo and John Wall (32.8), Russell Westbrook (33.8) and Kyrie Irving (42.2), eliminating Westbrook and Irving while forcing Rondo and Wall into an extra run as a tiebreaker to determine the third finalist. Rondo easily won that slalom.
Once in the last round, Parker clocked 32.8 seconds with a circuit clean of mistakes other than needing a second bounce pass. Rondo was second at 34.6 and Williams third with 41.4.
"The first time I did it, it was the first time they did the event and I was with Jason Kidd and Gary Payton and I was nervous because coming from Europe and from France and everything was big, the All-Star game," Parker said. "And then in 2009, I was just bad. I was just bad. This year I was a lot better. I have to say Cheryl Miller called it right before the competition. She said, 'Third time's a charm. You need to win this one.' "

2011
Stephen Curry takes 2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge
Stephen Curry dominated the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, posting the only sub-30 second score of the night to take the title, beating fellow guards Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, John Wall and Russell Westbrook.

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2010
Nash flies to victory in Taco Bell Skills Competition
Steve Nash tacked on a bit more at the start: Fly to Vancouver, carry the torch in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games, fly to Dallas to practice for the Western Conference All-Stars, then do the Skills Challenge. All in a 24-hour-plus period.

Nash out-dueled Deron Williams in the final round to take home his second Taco Bell Skills Challenge title (he also won in 2005).
2009
Top Pick Rose Finishes Skills Challenge With Flair
Finishing off his winning time of 35.3 seconds with an emphatic double-pump reverse dunk, the Chicago Bulls guard became the first rookie to win the PlayStation Skills Challenge when he defeated New Jersey's Devin Harris in the championship round of the 2009 Skills Challenge.
2008
Deron Williams Breezes To Skills Title
Deron Williams shook off some jitters in the first round and was flawless in the finals (no missed shots, every pass through the hoops) to edge Chris Paul for the 2008 Playstation Skills Challenge title. Williams' final time of 25.5 seconds was just one tick off the all-time mark set by Steve Nash in the first round in 2005.
2007
Wade Repeats
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade took home the PlayStation Skills Challenge title for the second straight year, posting a final-round time of 26.4 seconds to best Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant. Wade's first-round time of 31.3 seconds was second only to Bryant (29.8) and eliminated Cleveland's LeBron James (35.4) and New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Chris Paul (39.6).

[OnePiece]

Team New York wins Shooting Stars competition

Posted Feb 25 2012 9:35PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Team New York had the touch from outside and won the Shooting Stars event to open the NBA's All-Star Saturday night festivities.

Former Knicks star Allan Houston nailed his third attempt at a half-court shot to give his team consisting of current Knicks guard Landry Fields and Cappie Pondexter of the WNBA's New York Liberty the victory.
The winner completed the shooting course in 37.3 seconds in the final round. It was better than the 47.6 posted by the Team Texas trio of former Houston Rockets star and TNT analyst Kenny Smith, current Rocket Chandler Parsons and Sophia Young of the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Team Orlando and Atlanta posted the slowest times of Round 1 and were eliminated.

[OnePiece]

Stern: Silver worthy successor as NBA commissioner

Posted Feb 25 2012 9:21PM - Updated Feb 26 2012 12:51AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- David Stern will reveal only two things about his future as NBA commissioner.
He'll be retired within five years, and he hopes Adam Silver replaces him.
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Stern endorsed Silver for the job on Saturday, calling the deputy commissioner and 20-year employee of the NBA a "first-rate, top of the class executive."
"I guess I would say that one of the things that a good CEO does, and I try to be a good CEO, is provide his board with a spectacular choice for its successor, and I think I've done that, and that's Adam," Stern said, with Silver sitting at a table to his right.
"That's ultimately, if I had the decision, if I were doing it myself, he would be the commissioner."
However, Stern said the choice would be left to the owners, and he's given them no indication when they will have to make it.
Stern committed to a minimum of five more years on the job after the previous collective bargaining agreement was ratified in 2005. He said he's told them nothing now, though he said the discussion would come "very soon." He repeated what he's said previously about not being around to handle the next round of negotiations, which could be in 2017 if either side exercises its right to opt out of the 10-year deal.
"I'm not going to be here when it either is or isn't reopened in six years," he said.
Silver was already the lead negotiator during the recent labor talks, leading owners through a five-month lockout to a new deal in which they saved about $280 million a year in player salary costs.
Stern has leaned on his longtime assistant and the former president of NBA Entertainment more frequently in recent years, often leaving it to him to answer difficult questions. He passed the microphone to Silver on a couple of occasions Saturday for questions about the league's future that Stern, 69, may not be around to answer.
He has plenty of business to complete now.
He will meet Sunday with leadership from Sacramento and the Maloof family, who own the Kings, as the sides try to beat a March 1 deadline to complete a plan to finance a new arena the city needs to keep the team.
"We'd like the city, on behalf of the Maloofs, to make the largest possible contribution," Stern said. "The city would like the Maloofs to make the largest - both have come up with very substantial contributions. It's really getting there. It's just not there yet. And we're looking for ways, imaginative ways, to bridge the gap."
Also Saturday:
-Stern said the league is in discussions with one unnamed group, with another sitting behind, for the sale of the Hornets. He is optimistic a deal can get done in a week to 10 days.
-Stern doesn't see expanding beyond 30 teams in North America, but neither he nor Silver would rule out overseas in the next decade.
-Silver said the league is working to schedule games in London next season, after this season's games at the O2Arena had to be scrapped because of the condensed schedule.
-Silver said Nike and Adidas, in the wake of reports they try to steer stars to large markets, have assured the league that the incentives they build into contracts are based on winning, not market size.
-Stern said the league will return to Orlando for another All-Star game, though didn't say when. The game hadn't been here in 20 years, but Stern said there's "no better building in the world" than the new Amway Center.
-Silver said the league is in discussions about playing preseason games next season in China, perhaps in Shanghai, where former Houston All-Star Yao Ming owns the Chinese Basketball Association team

[OnePiece]

Union chief Hunter pleased at halfway point

Posted Feb 25 2012 7:39PM - Updated Feb 25 2012 9:26PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- At the halfway point of an already whirlwind NBA season, union leader Billy Hunter is pleased overall while still reserving judgment about the game in the aftermath of the prolonged lockout.

"Obviously the TV ratings are up. The attendance is up. Merchandising is up. So all the signs are positive, that's what I'm getting from (NBA Commissioner) David (Stern)," Hunter said Saturday. "The early report is that things are positive."

After a summer spent haggling mostly over revenue sharing, Hunter said the union is waiting to see the first official revenue figures from the league.
Early indications are the players will be pleased with what they eventually see.
The league shares its financial projections with the players' association on a quarterly basis, and the next update is due in March. Adam Silver, the NBA's deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, has informally conveyed to Hunter that the numbers are higher than expected.
There are several reasons for the positive numbers, but Hunter did allude to the recent surge in popularity of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin as one possible culprit.
Hunter said he's not at all surprised that the league has been able to rebound so swiftly after a contentious summer.
"I believed that the electricity was in the air and what was going to happen was the same thing that happened to football," Hunter said. "(There was) just a groundswell of support when the NFLPA and NFL got their deal. Everybody was concerned of whether there would be a problem or downturn, and it didn't happen.
"I think the appearance of some of the new talent that they either weren't aware of before or the ones that we've seen that have kind of upped their game, and I think it's a time where people are impressed and turned on."
As far his satisfaction level with the new collective bargaining agreement that allowed for the compressed 66-game season, Hunter said he isn't ready to offer judgment just yet.
"I think it's too early to tell," he said. "I think when you look back at the players that were free agents that signed this past summer, the guys that we anticipated that would get paid got paid. That's what the system allows. So I think when some of the free agents come out this season, I think you're gonna see the same kind of response with what teams step up.
"It's not that they're not gonna be in a position to pay the players. The players deserve it."
Hunter will be looking at specific numbers when he measures the effect of the new agreement on free agency.
"The criteria is at what level guys sign, what they sign for and the length of the contracts," he said. "I think it's more about revenue sharing. I don't think the owners of the teams can sit back and say they have a problem with the ability to pay players and be able to make money. I think they got revenue sharing and many other things that they wanted."
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently told CBSSports.com that from his fellow owners' perspective, how they feel about the new deal may take even longer - perhaps as much as three or four years. Cuban even alluded to the possibility of the owners choosing to exercise their option to opt out of the 10-year deal in six years.
That did little to rattle Hunter's optimism about the future, though.
"We're not intimidated by that," Hunter said. "Trust me, all of that is just, how can you characterize that? It's a lot of hot air."

[OnePiece]

Spurs forward Leonard out for Rising Stars game

Posted Feb 24 2012 9:06PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is sitting out the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star weekend with a strained right calf.

The NBA made the announcement shortly before the start of Friday's game.
Leonard joins Spurs teammate Tiago Splitter, also taken off the roster after sustaining the same injury. Splitter was replaced by Utah forward Derrick Favors.
This year marks the first time rookies and sophomores have been mixed together on teams. Historically, the game featured NBA rookies facing off against sophomores.
Former NBA players Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley served as general managers and picked the teams. Maurice Cheeks and Mike Fratello are co-head coaches of Barkley's team. Ron Adams and Steve Kerr are leading O'Neal's squad.

[OnePiece]

Not an All-Star, but Lin stars in Orlando


Posted Feb 24 2012 8:51PM - Updated Feb 25 2012 1:15AM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Jeremy Lin's sudden emergence came too late to make him part of this year's NBA All-Star game, but he still managed a starring role Friday as he shared his story at a press conference before playing in the Rising Stars Challenge.

"Just to be here and to see the company and all the players that are here," Lin said, "it's just been unbelievable, and I'm just trying to take it all in and embrace it and enjoy it every step of the way."
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The NBA determined there would be too many reporters and cameras to have Lin meet with the media Friday along with the other first and second-year players in the Rising Stars Challenge. So the league gave him his own press conference; something usually only afforded to Commissioner David Stern.
Lin's first question was from Knicks teammate Landry Fields, who asked his backcourt mate if he knew who the MVP of the San Francisco Pro-Am was in 2009 and 2010. Lin, from the Bay Area, knew it was Fields.
"He played for the Oakland Believers, and he doesn't have a lot of friends," Lin said.
Fields is Lin's closest friend on the Knicks, and Lin spent the night before his breakout game sleeping on Fields' couch since his brother's place, where he had been staying, was unavailable.
The couch story became well known - Fields even posted a picture of it on Twitter - and Lin revealed that a couch was going to be part of the Slam Dunk contest before Knicks rookie Iman Shumpert had to pull out with a knee injury.
"Landry was going to roll a couch out with a cover over it, I was going to be sleeping underneath it, and then we were going to pull the cover," Lin said. "I was going to throw to Iman an alley-oop from the couch, and he was going to jump over both me and the couch, windmill it and then sit down and have Landry hand him a Sprite."
Lin has led the Knicks to a 9-3 record since joining the rotation on Feb. 4. He feared for his NBA career only days earlier, praying that he wouldn't be cut before a Jan. 27 game in Miami.
Even with his stellar play, Lin wasn't supposed to be here, his emergence coming after the Rising Stars rosters were set. He planned to be on a beach somewhere, only to be drafted by Shaquille O'Neal for Team Shaq - who never gave Lin the word himself.
"Shaq missed practice this morning, so I don't know, I think we should fine him or something, because we were all expecting him to be there," Lin said. "But I look forward to meeting him soon."
Lin scored two points in the game, logging only 9 minutes after playing on back-to-back nights. Even his parents got some camera time, both shown looking at their cell phones and ignoring orders to kiss during a "Kiss Cam" segment while Lin looked on in amusement from the bench.
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Lin was coming off his first bad game as a starter, held to eight points and three assists on 1-for-11 shooting in a loss at Miami on Thursday. That only created more of the type of doubts Lin has been fighting against all his life.
Part of that, Lin acknowledged, could be his heritage. He's the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.
"Being Asian-American, when you look at me, I'm going to have to prove myself more again and again and again, and some people may not believe it," he said. "I know a lot of people say I'm deceptively athletic and deceptively quick, and I'm not sure what's deceptive. But it could be the fact I'm Asian-American, but that's fine. It's something that I embrace and it gives me a chip on my shoulder."
Lin's contract for the rest of the season became guaranteed two weeks ago, though he said he hasn't splurged on anything yet. It wasn't long ago he thought he may have to consider playing overseas, or a fifth trip to the NBA Development League. Maybe even a break from basketball.
Now he's the biggest story in the NBA, appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated two weeks in a row. He wants the success to last, though maybe not the attention.
"I'm definitely surprised that people are still talking about Linsanity or whatever," he said. "Hopefully as the season progresses, it will go from that to New York Knicks, and hopefully the Knicks can win basketball games, we can make a good push after the All Star break and people will start talking about the Knicks and not necessarily me."

[OnePiece]

Bucks: Bogut won't need surgery on injured ankle


Posted Feb 24 2012 7:04PM

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The Milwaukee Bucks say center Andrew Bogut won't need surgery on his injured left ankle.

Bucks general manager John Hammond says doctors reviewed a CT scan performed on Bogut's ankle Tuesday and agreed his ankle is healing properly. He is still expected to miss 8-12 weeks.
Hammond said Friday that Bogut will be allowed to go to the next stage of his rehabilitation program and have another scan in about a month.
Bogut fractured his ankle Jan. 25 against Houston when his foot landed awkwardly on a Rockets player's foot. In 12 games this season, Bogut averaged 11.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, one steal and 2.0 blocked shots in 30 minutes per game.
Bogut was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft.

[OnePiece]

Celtics' Rondo named All-Star replacement

Posted Feb 22 2012 7:04PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo got a strange combination from the NBA on his 26th birthday.

Rondo was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team Wednesday night, replacing injured Atlanta Hawks guard Joe Johnson. However, he was out of the Celtics' lineup for a game at Oklahoma City while serving the second game of a two-game suspension.
Coach Doc Rivers joked that, "When you get named to the All-star, you should take one game of suspension away."
Instead, he pointed out, Rondo will be paying fines to the league.
Rondo averages 14.8 points and is second in the NBA with 9.5 assists per game.
The league also announced that Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant will compete in the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest for the first time, replacing Johnson.